Synonyms of headwinds

headwinds

noun

plural of headwind

as in winds

an air movement that is blowing toward something (such as a ship or an airplane) as it moves forward

Stiff headwinds caused the flight to take longer than expected.

Related Words

• winds
• airs
• gales
• blows
• westerlies
• northers
• breezes
• breaths
• puffs
• zephyrs
• currents
• flurries
• northeasters
• wafts
• blasts
• southeasters
• northwesters
• whiffs
• southwesters
• squalls
• sea breezes
• windstorms
• drafts
• tornadoes
• tempests
• airflows

Dissimilar Words

• calms
• tailwinds

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of headwinds

Terrain and wind also matter—flat roads versus rolling hills, and tailwinds versus headwinds, can easily swing fuel economy by 2–4 mpg. — John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026

Microsoft and Amazon delivered impressive results, with stocks up 22% and 17% respectively, while Meta and Apple faced some headwinds. — Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Parekh also noted headwinds in mobile gaming in the App Store. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 July 2026

Any one of these business headwinds would be enough to cause concern. — Philipp Kampshoff, Fortune, 30 July 2026

Today’s retirees face a variety of headwinds, including looming Social Security funding woes, rising inflation that is pushing up everyday costs and market volatility. — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 29 July 2026

But Cooper’s equanimity seemed to recede a bit when the challenging headwinds facing the industry—and the general lack of respect she and her colleagues are afforded—came up. — John Semley, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026

Despite unspooling a long and accomplished career, Fauci might have faced headwinds trying to carry out Emanuel’s plan. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 July 2026

Republicans hope that gerrymandering and a backlash to the progressive left will help tip the midterms in their favor despite headwinds. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 24 July 2026